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Angelicanism
The High Angelican Church (generally referred as 'the church') is the primary religion of Panguilla, and the most populous religion of the known world. It originated from the Cult of the Lady in Blue, before a decree of King Huw made it the official religion of Kymuria. It is primarily controlled by the High Abbot, who in theory functions as an absolute and infallible entity on all religious matters, although monarchs, aristocrats and other members of the church hierarchy have been known to exercise considerable. Origins The exact theological origins of Angelicanism are hard to define. The tenets and traditions seem to be a collection of hundreds of folk beliefs and wisdoms; with the church allowing for regional differences in its orthodoxy. It is unfortunately hard to confirm this due to the fact that very few artefacts of this mysterious proto-religion actually exist. Many scholars have spent a great deal of time attempting to unravel the origin of this religion to no avail, and though scholars such as J'swor Mearsie often manage to discover new interesting pieces of evidence, nothing conclusive has yet been found. The church teaching and generally accepted historical narrative is that a young merchant's daughter named Adephagia (This is the modern Kymurian spelling and pronunciation, at the time, the name would have been spelled Adifiega, and pronounced ''Ad-eff-edge-ah.) w''as visited by a divine premonition, who spoke of a great battle between forces of good and forces of evil, fought "not on cud or field or swamp, but stretched across vast plains of human consciousness." Being somewhat educated, Adephagia wrote down many of the statements and knowledge she gained from these visions before setting out across the land to preach what she had learned, quickly amassing a vast following among common people and the gentry alike. She was nicknamed "The lady in blue" due to her distinctive blue robe. She finally appeared in the road leading up to King Huw's palace, where she and the crowd of thousands convinced him to abandon the Cult of the Marsh Earls and accept the Two Spirits as his overlords, which he subsequently did. An odd aspect is Development With the official adoption of Angelicanism as the nominal state religion of Kymuria, Angelicanism grew alongside the state. Angelicanism initially would of most likely been simple reverence of ancestors, but as the religion became more centralised and the first theologians began to emerge, reverence and praise of officially church sanctioned saints became the norm. Angelicanism soon became the world's first (and so far only) global religion. Old Pavian traditions remained present in isolated and remote corners of Panguilla (as they still do) but in small numbers. The only region that remained relatively untouched by 'the church' was SKL where Folk Religions and traditions still dominate the religious landscape. As Angelicanism became more and more centralised, it became increasingly inseparable from the state. Eventually, this resulted in many kings and emperors of Kymuria being included in official worship, King Huw and Cyroth are perhaps the more notable 'quasi-deities' (though other less notable figures like Karl the Stout can also be found). Pilgrimage sites also play a prevalent role in the religion, the isles of Ubrus and Saffira being the two most popular destinations. Modern Times Angelicanism has in recent times experienced relative instability, this can mainly be attributed to the writings of Leo Oshar, and his subsequent followers down through the ages. The rise of secularism thanks to the Confederacy (and the events proceeding it) also saw a flight in the adherents to Angelicanism, but it seems as though this was only temporary, an Imperial Kymurian Revival overseen by Empress Theodora has, for the most part, reversed the damage caused to 'the church' by Premier Harding. A sharp rise in the number of reactionary and ultra-religious zealots, known as Black Talons, can be credited to the increased polarisation between followers of Oshar and followers of 'the church.' The Pantheon of the Forty-One High Saints Alongside the Lady in Blue, there are Forty-One "High Saints" that it is permissible to worship. High Saints are people considered to have done immensely valiant, protective, virtuous or otherwise notable things in the service of the church or its followers. Any candidate for High Sainthood must be first cleared of all inabsolvable heresy by the Angelican Brotherhood of Historians. They must then be debated and unanimously declared worthy by the irregularly-called Congress of Bishops. The High Abbot, Chamberlain Abbot and Chancellor of Monsra must unanimously agree to the candidates sanctification, before a generally ceremony is called. If any traditional omens of favour are broken during this ceremony, the candidate is not permitted to become a High Saint, though they may still assume the subsidiary honours granted by default to any High Saint. The Forty-One High Saints are as follows: